Almost a decade ago, Samsung and Google surprised us at a Google I/O conference with the unwrapping of the Gear Live (our review), an Android Wear watch to help the platform launch. This was the same I/O conference that we got the LG G Watch and a first look at the original Moto 360. It was early days when Android Wear wasn’t yet Wear OS and we had no idea how the platform might evolve over time or which players would come and go.
When first revealed, the Samsung Gear Live was nice enough with its rectangular design, but the Moto 360 stole the show, thanks to its circular display and overall higher-end design. But we’re talking about the Gear Live once again in 2024 because Samsung may look to it for design motivation in upcoming Galaxy Watch devices.
According to a rumor out of SamMobile, Samsung is considering a squarish design for future smartwatches. Their sources suggest that the company is enthusiastically looking into it, but they aren’t sure if it could show up with an upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 launch or at a later date. We really know nothing, only that sources seem to be hyped on the return of a square or rectangular Galaxy Watch.
Your mind is probably racing to, “Oh, so an Apple Watch clone, great.” And that’s fair! Apple ignored the early pressure from the smartwatch industry whose design trends of adopting circular watches were all the rage. I feel like I now regularly see Apple given credit for sticking with its rectangle design because it actually showcases information better than rounded displays do.
As someone who hasn’t really fallen for a Galaxy Watch in some time, I’m all for change. In fact, I’d be happy to welcome in squarish designs from Samsung or Google or others to see what they could do with something that isn’t just another round smartwatch.
Curious if you agree with me or you’d rather we stick with another round or four of circular Galaxy and Pixel Watch designs?